Toy water gun



y 17, 1956 R. E. HOI =KINS ET AL TOY WATER GUN 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FiledJune 10, 1953 INVENTOR. RICHARD E. HOPKINS RAYMOND J. LOHR ATTORNEY J y1956 R. E. HIOPKINS ET AL TOY WATER GUN Filed June 10, 1953 2Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

RICHARD E. HOPKINS RAYMOND J. LOHR El 5 8 BY M ATTORNEY United StatesPatent ()fice 2,754,997 Fatented .luly l7, 195

TOY WATER GUN Richard E. Hopkins and Raymond J. Lohr, Erie, Pa., as-

signors to Louis Marx & Company, Tue, New York, N. Y., a corporation ofNew York Application June 10, 1953, Serial No. 360,634

11 Claims. (Cl. 22279) This invention relates to water guns, and moreparticularly to such a gun having the length and configuration of ashoulder gun, such as a shotgun or a rifle of the like.

Water pistols have been made for many years. In modern form the pistolgrip or handle acts as a water reservoir and also houses a pump which isactuated'by a simulated trigger. The pump ejects water through asuitable small bore hole at the muzzle.

The primary object of the present invention is to gen.- erally improvewater guns. A more particular object is to provide a water gun of suchlength and configuration as to simulate a shoulder gun rather than apistol. It is evident that such a gun will have an enormously increasedwater storage capacity, and other advantages whichwill be pointed outlater.

With the pump located in the usual rear position behind the trigger, itwould be necessary to provide a long water discharge passage from thepump at the stock, to the muzzle of the gun. This would be costly, andwould introduce hydraulic friction and reduce efficiency.

In accordance with one feature and object of the present invention, thepump is located in the barrel portion of the gun, and is much nearer theforward end than the rear end of the gun. Moreover, in order to providea simple, direct and dependable mechanism for operating the pump, weprovide the gun with a forearm grip in simulation of a repeating gun,and we use the simulated forearm grip to actuate the pump, instead ofusing a trigger. This construction has the important advantage ofproviding a forcible arm action for the pump, far greater than thatobtainable when using a mere finger-operated trigger.

As so far described it would be necessary to provide a long suction pipeextending rearwardly and downwardly from the pump to the lowermost andrearmost corner of the stock. This would be expensive, and would reducethe efficiency of the pump action. A further object of the presentinvention is to overcome this difliculty, which we do by providing a damin the barrel portion acting as a water trap to provide a localizedauxiliary reservoir. The large gun stock is made hollow and water-proof,and acts as the main reservoir. The water pump is supplied with Waterfrom the localized or auxiliary reservoir, and indeed the pump may beimmersed in the auxiliary reservoir. With this arrangement water may betransferred at intervals from the main reservoir to the auxiliaryreservoir by simply tilting the muzzle of the gun downward.

To accomplish the foregoing general objects, and other more specificobjects which will hereinafter appear, our invention resides in thewater gun elements, and their relation one to another, as arehereinafter more particularly described in the following specification.The specification is accompanied by drawings, inwhich:

Fig. 1 is a partially sectioned plan View of a water gun embodyingfeatures of our invention;

Fig. 2 is an elevation of the same;

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section taken in the plane of the line'33 ofFig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary perspective view showing how a muzzle plug isreceived and mounted between the two halves of the gun at the muzzle;

Fig. 5 is a plan view of the pump of the gun, drawn to enlarged scale;

Fig. dis a section taken in the plane of the line 66 of Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary partially sectioned elevation showing how thepump is immersed in the auxiliary reservoir;

Fig. 8 is a section taken approximately in the plane of the line 8-3 ofFig. 1, with the parts drawn to enlarged scale;

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary elevation of a part of one half of the gun, withthe pump removed;

Fig. 10 is a rear end view of the forearm grip, with the back end plateremoved; and

Fig. 11 is a section through the muzzle plug and valve mechanism.

Referring to the drawing, and more particularly to Fig. 3, the guncomprises a forward portion 12 and a rear portion 14, the rear portionbeing hollow and watertight, and acting as a main water reservoir. Thegun further comprises a dam 16 in the forward portion 12, and this damacts as a water trap to providea localized auxiliary reservoir 18. Thereis also a water pump generally desighated 2t), and this is supplied withwater from the auxiliary reservoir 18. The gun further comprises means,in this case a forearm grip 22, to operate the pump. A small dischargehole is provided at the muzzle of the. gun. In this case the hole isconveniently formed in a suitable muzzle plug 24;, and water is forcedfrom the pump through the muzzle plug. They are preferably connected byasuitable tube 2 6, and the use of such a tube is convenient when, as inthe present case, the gun simulates a shotgun having the usual largediameter. shotgun barrel. With a gun simulating a small bore rifle thebarrel itself may beused asthe connection between the pump and themuzzle. V

Considering the arrangement more specifically, the gun is long andshaped to simulate a shoulder weapon, the forward portion 12 here shownsimulatesra shotgun barrel, and the rear portion 14 simulates the stockof a shotgun. The operating member 22 is longitudinally slidable beneaththe barrel 12, and simulates the forearm grip of a repeating weapon.Thus the damlo is located behind the forearm grip 22, and the waterpump20 is, located in the barrel portion of the gun ahead of the dam and. atthe forearm grip. The piston rod 30 of the pump is connected'to theforearm grip 22 by means of a crosspin 32, which passes through slots inthe gun, and, at the ends of which pin, are secured to the grip 22 byrivet heads as shown at 32 in Figs. 2 and 8. K

Referring to Fig. 1, the main body of the gun is preferably molded outof a suitable plastic, for example, high impact polystyrene, and theparticular plastic used may have or may be sprayed with a gun-metalfinish in order to improve 1 the realistic appearance of the gun. Themain body of the gun is molded in two halves, indicated at 34 and 36,and separating on a center plane. 38. The halves as molded are generallyalike, but include a few specific differences, apart from the fact thatone .is a lefthand side and the other is a righthand side.

For example, at certain points one-half of the gun may be provided withtiny dowel projections, such as those indicated at 40, 42 and 44 in Fig.3, while the other half is provided with mating holes tofreceive thedowels, The parts 46 and 48 are frusto-conical projections which cometogether from opposite sides of the stock, in abutting relation in orderto rigidify and strengthen the stock despite the use of a comparativelythin wall thickness; The halves of the gun are provided withaisemicircular opening, which together provide a circular' opening toreceive a suitable filler cap or stopper 50. This is preferably made ofrubber and is preferably molded integrally with an anchor strap 52, thelatter having a hole which is forced over a headed projection 54. Thelatter is made of two halves each molded integrally with the main body.

The body as molded includes the dam 16 and a horizontal extensionthereof marked 56 (Fig. 3). When the parts of the body are securedtogether by the use of a suitable solvent or adhesive, the latter may beapplied also to the edges of dam 16 and its extension 56. If only thevertical dam 16 were present, the gun could be tilted upward to an anglegreater than that shown in Fig. 7, but the angle would be limitedbecause the intake valve of the pump must be immersed in water. However,with the added horizontal extension 56 the gun may be tilted upward at amuch steeper angle, while still retaining water around the intake valve.

If desired, and preferably, a small notch is made in the dam 56, asshown at 57 in Fig. 3 and Fig. 7. This permits air to escape whenrefilling the auxiliary reservoir from the main reservoir. The vent ispreferably made small so that any escape of water through the vent whenthe gun is tipped upwardly is rather slow, in which case the benefit ofthe horizontal dam 56 is retained.

The auxiliary reservoir is bounded at its forward end by a step-shapedpartition best shown at 58, 60, and 62 in Fig. 9. The horizontal part 60has a half round recess at 64 which acts to receive a mating part of thepump. The vertical partition 62 has a half round and V-sectioned recesswhich receives another mating part of the pump.

Referring now to Figs. and 6, the pump is itself molded out of asuitable plastic such as polystyrene. It comprises a main cylinder 70having a discharge connection 72 molded integrally therewith, and alsohaving a part of an intake valve assembly molded integrally therewith ata point diametrically opposite the part 72. The forward end 76 is moldedintegrally with the cylinder, including a V-sectioned annulus or ring78. The rear end of cylinder 70 is closed by a suitable spring retainercap 80, which is cemented in position after inserting in the cylinder apiston 82 and a return spring 84. The piston 82 may be molded ofplastic, and includes several thin gasket discs 86 and 88 backed by athin metal disc 90 against which the spring 84 bears. The piston 82 isrecessed at its forward end to receive the rear end of the piston rod30, the latter being a cylindrical rod with an integrally molded solidenlargement 92 at its forward end. This has fiat sides, with a hole 94passing diametrically therethrough.

The intake valve is completed by means of a valve retainer cap 96 whichis cemented to the part 74 previously mentioned. The retainer cap has aconical seat supporting a ball check valve 98. This worksgravitationally.

Reverting now to Fig. 9, it may be explained that the semi-circulargroove 66 of the gun body receives and accurately fits the annular ring78 shown in Figs. 5 and 6, and that the semi-circular seat 64 receivesand accurately fits the cylindrical part 72 shown in Figs. 5 and 6.Moreover, while not apparent from the drawing, the outside diameter ofthe valve retainer cap 96 shown in Fig. 6, is selected to fill theside-to-side space between the inside walls of the halves of the gunbody. Thus the pump assembly is seated in and securely held by the twohalves of the gun when the latter are cemented together.

Moreover, in Fig. 9 attention is directed to the upper and lower guidetracks 102 and 104 which are located directly above and below the slot106. The pin 32 (Fig. 2) passes through the slot 106 (and through aregistering slot in the opposite side of the gun). The pin also passesthrough the enlargement 92 at the forward end of the piston rod. Thuswith the ends of the pin passing through and secured to the sides of theforearm grip, as shown in Fig. 8, it will be evident that longitudinalreciprocation of the forearm grip causes a similar movement of thepiston rod. The guide tracks 102 and 104 cooperate with the fiatvertical sides of the enlargement 92, and help guide the enlargement,and also help insure against unintended rotation of the enlargementduring assembly of the gun, for such rotation would, of course,interfere with passage of the pin 32 through the parts of the gun as amore or less final step in the assembly of the same.

It has already been mentioned in connection with Fig. 3 that the muzzleplug 24 is connected to the pump by means of a tube 26. Referring now toFig. 6 it will be seen that the rear end of the tube 26 is inserted inand may be cemented to the cylindrical upstanding connection 72 of thepump. The material of the tube 26 is preferably a flexible plastic. Thepump 20 is rigidly mounted in the gun, and similarly the muzzle plug 24is rigidly mounted in the gun, and in proper axial alignment with thebarrel of the gun.

This is accomplished in a manner in which may be explained withreference to Figs. 3 and 4 of the drawing. The muzzle plug 24 isessentially a stepped cylinder having a larger diameter portion 108,which is reduced at the rear to a smaller diameter portion 110. Theflexible tube 26 is inserted in and secured to the rear end of the part110. The forward part 108 has a V-section ring 112 formed thereon, andthis is received in a mating V-section groove 114 which is molded in thetwo halves of the gun, as shown in Fig. 4. Moreover, each half of thegun has an additional support 116, and these supports project toward oneanother and receive and hold the small diameter rearward part of themuzzle plug. Thus the muzzle plug is securely anchored in position andis held in proper axial alignment with the barrel of the gun. Assemblyof the muzzle plug 24 and the pump 20 into the gun is greatlyfacilitated by the flexible character of the tube 26 which interconnectsthe same.

It will be understood that these parts may be made up ahead of time as asub-assembly, that is, the pump may be assembled; the parts of themuzzle plug may be assembled; these two assemblies may be joined by tube26; and the resulting sub-assembly may be placed in one-half of the gunbefore adding the other half.

The muzzle plug 24 preferably contains a discharge valve, and thiseliminates the need for a valve ball directly above the pump in theconnection 72 (Fig. 6). By locating the valve in the muzzle plug thereis no dripping of water out of the muzzle of the gun when tilteddownward. The valve is best shown in Fig. 11 of the drawing, referringto which it will be seen that there is a passage 130 the left end ofwhich acts as a valve seat cooperating with a valve disc or gasket 132,which in turn is backed by a metal disc 134. The latter is urgedrearwardly by a compression spring 136 housed in a valve chamber 138.This is formed in the forward part of the smaller diameter piece 110 ofthe nozzle plug assembly. The forward end of the piece 110 is securedwithin the large diameter part 108, as by means of a solvent or cement.When the pump is actuated the valve opens and water is ejected throughthe fine bore nozzle opening 140. This may be counterbored slightly asshown at 142.

Referring now to Fig. 1 of the drawing, it may be explained that eachhalf of the gun has molded on the outside a pair of studs which act as aguide for the forearm grip 22. Referring to Fig. 10 it will be seen thatthe forearm grip is molded in one piece and includes guide tracks 122.These are slid over the studs 120 when assembling the gun, followingwhich the crosspin 32 may be inserted and appropriately riveted or upsetat its ends. This will hold the parts in assembly, because the crosspinand pump action will themselves limit the longitudinal travel of theforearm grip. However, for improved appearance the rear end of theforearm grip is closed by a suitablemoldable plasticplate indicated at124 in Fig. 3. The rear edge of the forearm grip 22 may be recessed toreceive the plate 124 when the latter is cemented in position. This isshown at 125 in Fig. 10.

The barrel 12 is generally cylindrical, except for a raised rib 126along the top. The rear portion of the barrel is enlarged downward toform a lower nearly cylindrical portion 128 '(Fig. 8) which terminatesat 130 (Fig. 3). In a sense the forearm grip 22 rides on this lowerportion 128, and in any event encloses it. Referring now to Fig. 3, itwill be seen that this lower portion is dropped even further at 132,thereby forming a sump for the auxiliary reservoir 18. The intake valveof pump 29 is disposed in the sump 132. It will be noted that the sumpis housed and concealed Within the slidable forearm grip 22.

It is believed that the construction and operation, as well as theadvantages of our improved water gun, will be apparent from theforegoing detailed description. To load the gun the stopper 5% is openedand water is poured through the filler opening until the gun seems full.The large quantity of water which will be carried by the gun is evidentwithout further comment, and the gun may be designed to fire about twohundred full length shots at each loading. To fire the gun it is heldwith the stock resting against ones shoulder, with the right hand at thetrigger guard, and with the left hand at the forearm grip. To fire thegun the grip is pulled rearward, thus forcibly ejecting a fine stream ofwater.

This operation may be repeated continuously while the gun is full. Laterwhen the quantity of water has been substantially reduced, the gun maybe fired for some twelve full length shots after each filling of theauxiliary reservoir 18. When the water in the auxiliary reservoir isexhausted, or at intervals without waiting for the water to beexhausted, it is merely necessary to tilt the gun with the muzzledownward, whereupon water flows from the stock forward to the auxiliaryreservoir, and on again raising the muzzle of the gun the excess waterreturns to the stock but a quantity of water is trapped in the auxiliaryreservoir, ready for another series of shots.

This is illustrated in Fig. 7, in which it will be seen that the gun istilted upwardly so that there is no water visible immediately behind thedam 16 (although there may still be a good supply of water in the largehollow stock of the gun), yet a quantity of water is trapped in theauxiliary reservoir 18 ahead of the dam l6, and this water supplies thepump 20.

The front location of the pump permits economical construction, combinedwith a very realistic shape of the gun. The use of the auxiliaryreservoir permits most of the gun body to be used as a water reservoir.Thus a large amount of water can be carried for a very large number offull shots, and an even greater number of short shots, for the number ofshots which may be fired is greatly increased if the pump stroke is cutshort. The use of the forearm grip as a pump actuating mechanism permitsthe gun to be operated by even a small child, and provides a strongwater ejection because the full power of the childs arm is used, insteadof only a single finger. I

It will be understood that while we have shown and described ourinvention in a preferred form, changes may be made in the structureshown, without departing from the scope of the invention, as sought tobe defined in the following claims.

We claim:

1. A water gun having an elongated forward portion and an enlarged rearportion, said forward portion being normally at a higher level than saidrear portion, said rear portion being hollow and Watertight and actingas a main water reservoir, a dam in the forward portion acting as awater trap to provide a localized auxiliary reservoir, said dam normallypreventing water from run- 6 ning back from said auxiliary reservoir tosaid main reservoir, a water pump located in the forward portion andsupplied from said auxiliary reservoir, means to operate said pump, anda discharge nozzle connected to said pump, the arrangement being suchthat water may be transferred from the main reservoir to the auxiliaryreservoir at intervals by tilting the gun, thereby dispensing with theneed for a suction supply from said main reservoir to said pump.

2. A water gun having a barrel and a stock and a forearm grip, saidstock being hollow and Water-tight and acting as a main water reservoir,a .dam in the barrel portion acting as a water trap to provide alocalized auxiliary reservoir, a Water pump located near the auxiliaryreservoir and the forearm grip, said Water pump being connected to saidforearm grip for actuation thereby, said water pump being supplied fromsaid auxiliary reservoir, and a discharge nozzle at the muzzle of thegun connected to the pump, the arrangement being such that water may betransferred from the main reservoir to the auxiliary reservoir atintervals by tilting the gun.

3. A water gun in the form of a repeating gun having a barrel and astock and a forearm grip movable relative to the barrel, said stockbeing hollow and water-tight and acting as a main water reservoir, a damin the barrel portion acting as a water trap to provide a localizedauxiliary reservoir, a water pump located near the auxiliary reservoirand the forearm grip, said water pump being connected to said forearmgrip for actuation thereby, said water pump being supplied from saidauxiliary reservoir, and a discharge nozzle at the muzzle of the gunconnected to the pump.

4. A water gun in the form of a repeating gun having a barrel and astock and a forearm grip slidable beneath the barrel, said stock beinghollow and water-tight and acting as a main water reservoir, a dam inthe barrel portion behind the forearm grip acting as a water trap toprovide a localized auxiliary reservoir at the forearm grip, a waterpump located in the barrel portion at the forearm grip, the piston rodof said water pump being connected to said forearm grip for actuationthereby, Water pump being immersed in and supplied from said auxiliaryreservoir, and a discharge nozzle at the muzzle of the gun connected tothe pump, the arrangement being such that water may be transferred fromthe main reservoir to the auxiliary reservoir at intervals by tiltingthe muzzle of the gun downward, and there being no need to provide apump suction tube from the pump to the stock.

5. A gun as defined in claim 2, in which the auxiliary reservoir isprovided with a depressed sump housed within the forearm grip, and inwhich the intake of the pump is disposed in said sump.

6. A gun as defined in claim 3, in which the auxiliary reservoir isprovided with a depressed sump housed within the forearm grip, and inwhich the intake of the pump is disposed in said sump.

7. A gun as defined in claim 4, in which the auxiliary reservoir isprovided with a depressed sump housed within the forearm grip, and inwhich the intake of the pump is disposed in said sump.

8. A gun as defined in claim 3, in which the body of the gun simulates ashotgun, and in which the pump is connected to the discharge nozzle atthe muzzle of the gun by means of a slender tube housed within thesimulated shotgun barrel of the gun.

9. A gun as defined in claim 4, in which the body of the gun simulates ashotgun, and in which the pump is connected to the discharge nozzle atthe muzzle of the gun by means of a slender flexible tube housed withinthe simulated shotgun barrel of the gun.

10. A gun as defined in claim 3, in which there is a filler cap at thebreech, so located as to somewhat resemble the hammer of a rifle.

11. A water gun in the form of an elongated shoulder gun having a barreland a stock, said stock being hollow and water-tight and acting as amain water reservoir, a dam in the barrel portion acting as a water trapto provide a localized auxiliary reservoir, said auxiliary reservoirhaving a mean level which is higher than the mean level of the mainreservoir when the barrel is in horizontal position, a water pump in thebarrel portion supplied from said auxiliary reservoir, means to operatesaid pump, and a discharge nozzle at the muzzle of the gun connected tosaid pump, the arrangement being such that water may be transferred fromthe main reservoir to the auxiliary reservoir at intervals by tiltingthe muzzle of the gun downward, said auxiliary reservoir havingsufficient capacity for repeated operations of the References Cited inthe file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,706,532 Lefever Mar. 26,1929 1,839,870 Dorph Ian. 5, 1932 2,435,527 Arpin Feb. 3, 1948 2,589,963Richardson Mar. 18, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,902 Australia Apr. 30, 1931

